Machinists Win Back-to-Back Organizing Drives in Texas

June 12, 2014 07:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)
today announced a second important organizing victory, this time for 475
office and clerical personnel employed by L3 at the Corpus Christi Army
Depot (CCAD) in Corpus Christi, TX. This follows an April organizing win
for 450 helicopter mechanics and technicians at the same facility.

The L3 employees voted for IAM representation by 219 to 149, a 59
percent margin on June 12 in a day-long election conducted by the
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The group will join IAM Local
2916, which already has over 500 members under six contracts at the
adjoining Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, as well as the new members
from April’s election.

“Our organizers were able to overcome the anti-union bias that is
promoted in some southern states by providing concrete examples of what
IAM contracts have already secured for similar workers throughout the
South,” said IAM Southern Territory Vice President Mark Blondin. “The
IAM also has a history in the South that goes back 126 years, with
well-established bargaining relationships in shipbuilding, defense and
aerospace.”

Blondin credited the union’s months-long education campaign that
preceded the vote for ensuring workers at L3 knew their legal rights and
understood the benefits of working under a collective bargaining
agreement.

“This was a big team effort, with staff and volunteers involved from
across our territory. It’s exciting to see workers’ views change about
the need for a union,” said Blondin. “Across the South, we’re hearing
from workers about the need for the voice on the job and better wages.
We expect these latest wins to lead to increased organizing
opportunities for the IAM.”

The IAM is one of the largest industrial trade unions in North America,
representing more than 600,000 active and retired members in dozens of
industries.